Pont du Gard Pictures
France Guide

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Pont du Gard [bridge/aqueduct], Gard, South of France, near Nîmes.

The vast Pont-du-Gard is a work of Pharaonic ambition and at 49m [161 ft] the highest aqueduct ever built by the Romans. It's a World Heritage Site and the immediate vicinity has been turned into a calm and very pleasant park, with clearly marked walking and biking trails. The lower bridge section - on which walkers are visible in the photo - was added for convenience and safety in 1743.

Paddling or swimming in this zone downstream of the Pont du Gard is permitted and popular during the summer; kayak hire is also available. This is one of France's top five tourist attractions, with over a million visitors a year.

A graphic tourist map of the Site Pont du Gard, courtesy of the Public Information Centre.

With an airy and useful visitor centre [middle of the map], good parking, restaurants including La Terrasse on the other [right] bank of the river and excellent walks, this is a terrific day out and an easy drive from Nîmes, Arles or Avignon. The only charge made is a few euros for the car park.

This massive aqueduct was built to deliver water from springs in Uzes 50kms [30 miles] to the Castellum in Nîmes.

The Pont du Gard was possibly built by Marcus Agrippa [also responsible for the Pantheon in Rome and the Maison Carré in Nîmes] in 19 BC. Some of the stones used weigh 6 tonnes and were cut and fitted perfectly without any kind of mortar or cement. It probably took about 3 years to build by around 1,000 slaves and overseers.
Protruding scaffold supports are still visible, as in the photo above, as are location marks by the original builders. e.g. FRS II = frons sinsitra 2 = front left 2.

The approach path from the visitor centre to the bridge.

Walking trails leading off from the right bank of the bridge.

An easy drive from Pont-du-Gard are Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Nimes.

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